Real Man

At that moment, Jung Min-kyo was pacing in front of the gym building.

He couldn’t wait any longer and decided to look for Yoo-hyun.

He wanted to finish the conversation that he couldn’t have before.

“This is Double Y, right…?”

He muttered the company name that he had heard from Yoo-hyun a while ago.

He wondered how he should approach him.

Should he go to the company?

What should he say to him?

He had so many things to tell him, but he couldn’t think of a proper way to do it.

Buzzing.

Then, people started to come out of the building.

Jung Min-kyo quickly hid himself and entered the kimbap shop.

Yoo-hyun was discussing the contract issue with Park Young-hoon and Mirinae Securities.

There were many complicated circumstances, so he needed to meet the executives of Mirinae Securities once.

He conveyed his opinion clearly and went down to the first floor.

The sky was already dyed with the sunset.

Yoo-hyun thought that the kimbap would be ready by now and grabbed the door of the kimbap shop.

Suddenly, he saw an unexpected pair through the transparent window.

It was Jung Min-kyo and Jeong Da-hye.

‘Why is my father-in-law here…?’

He was surprised for a moment, but then he observed the mother and son sitting across each other.

They didn’t say a word and just stared at the kimbap on the table.

He didn’t know what they were feeling, but he could tell that it was not a good time to interrupt.

They needed some time alone.

Thump.

He stepped back and Nadoha came up to him.

He recognized Jeong Da-hye through the window and his eyes widened.

“Hyung, is that Alice-nim sitting there?”

“Yeah. It is.”

“I was going to introduce her to grandma, but this is perfect. Aren’t you going in?”

Nadoha tried to open the door, but Yoo-hyun stopped him.

“Nadoha, can I talk to you for a bit?”

“What is it?”

“Just. This and that.”

“Let’s introduce ourselves first. Grandma was curious about Alice-nim after hearing about Jang-woo.”

Nadoha’s same-age champion, Lee Jang-woo, was a regular at the kimbap shop.

He had come by recently and told them about his stories in the US.

Nadoha might have good intentions, but he couldn’t ruin the mood right now.

Yoo-hyun brought up another topic that would catch his interest.

“Nadoha, do you know how much you got from the Instagram shares?

“You mean the one percent that you gave me before? How much is it?”

“15 billion.”

“What! No way! Really? Can I buy more servers with that?”

“You can buy a building. Come on, let’s go.”

Yoo-hyun put his arm around Nadoha’s shoulder and turned around.

He glanced back after walking for a while.

The two were still sitting silently.

There was another roll of kimbap on the table.

What did they talk about?

Yoo-hyun was curious, but he didn’t ask.

He didn’t meddle with their business and just waited for them.

He felt like he needed some time to sort out his thoughts, too. He postponed his meeting with Han Jae-hee.

Two days passed.

On Sunday afternoon, he met Jeong Da-hye at the park in front of his house.

She smiled awkwardly and apologized.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t contact you again.”

“Hey, you’re here now, don’t worry. I know your address, I can visit you anytime.”

“That’s true. It feels real that I’m in Korea.”

Jeong Da-hye’s expression looked somewhat sad.

Yoo-hyun looked at her quietly and she asked him.

“Yoo-hyun, can we see Jae-hee today?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Just. We couldn’t meet that day.”

“It’s okay. We can see her later when we have more time.”

It wasn’t a problem to meet her, but the timing wasn’t very good.

-That company was Double Y? The one we collaborated with was Doha Messenger? And you were the one who led it, Da-hye unni?

Han Jae-hee had learned the truth the day before yesterday and she was furious.

The aftermath would still be there.

But Jeong Da-hye’s next words changed Yoo-hyun’s mind.

“No. I want to see her today. I want to have a drink with her, too.”

“A drink… Then today would be better.”

Yoo-hyun picked up his phone.

That evening, the three of them gathered at Yoo-hyun’s house.

He thought that Han Jae-hee would be in a bad mood, but that was a needless worry.

She smiled brightly when she saw Jeong Da-hye’s gifts.

“Unni, why did you buy so many things? And they’re all expensive drinks.”

“I didn’t know what you would like.”

“Hey. Unni, just be comfortable with me.”

“Comfortable?”

“Yes. Just say it, unni. We’re going to see each other often, so there’s no need to be distant.”

“Then you be comfortable with me, too.”

Jeong Da-hye suggested and Han Jae-hee agreed as if she had been waiting for it.

She was a very sociable younger sister.

“Cool. I feel like we’re closer now. Unni, can you drink well?”

“Not really, but I enjoy the atmosphere.”

“Oh? Me too. We have a lot in common.”

“What are you saying?”

Yoo-hyun muttered with a dumbfounded expression and Han Jae-hee winked at him.

“Oppa, what are you doing? Aren’t you going to treat the guest?”

“Ugh. Fine. Wait a minute.”

He would have scolded her normally, but he couldn’t do that in front of Jeong Da-hye.

He got up and heard Han Jae-hee’s teasing voice from behind.

“Oppa is a bit timid, so please understand him, unni.”

“Sure. I understand.”

“Wow! How can you be so pretty and understanding, unni?”

“You’re not so bad yourself, Jae-hee.”

“Ha ha! You have a good eye for people. You’re awesome, sis.”

“…”

Somehow, the two of them got along very well, even though they hadn’t drunk a single drop of alcohol.

Clank.

Han Jae-hee opened a bottle of whiskey and poured it into a glass of ice. He then downed it in one shot.

Jeong Da-hye followed suit and drank it all without hesitation.

Her face was already flushed, so Yoo-hyun tried to stop her.

“Da-hye, relax, relax.”

“Oppa, leave me alone. Sis wants to drink, okay?”

“That’s right, Yoo-hyun. It’s been a long time since I felt this comfortable.”

“Well, still…”

Before Yoo-hyun could say anything, Han Jae-hee poured another drink.

“Oppa, don’t be so clingy to sis.”

“What do you mean clingy? It’s bad for your health, you know.”

“Whatever. Sis, I really wanted to meet you.”

“Why?”

“I was curious about who you were, that made oppa fall so hard for you. He even quit his job and went to America for you. Mom kept nagging me about it.”

Han Jae-hee gave a ridiculous answer to Jeong Da-hye’s question.

Yoo-hyun immediately objected.

“Hey, that’s not true.”

“What do you mean not true? Dad thought oppa had emigrated, you know.”

“That was a joke.”

Han Jae-hee ignored Yoo-hyun’s words and looked at Jeong Da-hye.

“Anyway, our family is all curious about you.”

“Really? I’m sorry to bother them.”

“Nah. They’re happy. They’re dying for oppa to get married.”

At his sudden words, Yoo-hyun spat out his drink.

“Pfft!”

“What the hell! You spit all over me. Did you do that to sis too?”

Han Jae-hee wiped his arm and grumbled, while Jeong Da-hye chuckled.

Yoo-hyun could only sigh.

Before they knew it, they had finished a bottle of whiskey.

In the tipsy atmosphere, Han Jae-hee dug out all kinds of stories from Yoo-hyun.

“Sis, do you know that oppa is only sweet to you?”

“Huh?”

“Well, he has a junior at work who follows him around. But a while ago, when I went to the Wonju factory, I saw how much he was suffering there because of what oppa had ordered him to do…”

He was talking about Jang Joon-sik, the assistant manager.

Han Jae-hee seemed to know that Yoo-hyun had ordered him to set up the mold equipment, but that was Jang Joon-sik’s choice.

All Yoo-hyun had done was tell him it was okay.

Of course, it was true that he was working hard to fill Yoo-hyun’s gap, so he just listened.

Then he heard something that caught his ear.

“What? The equipment setup engineers quit as a group?”

“That’s what I heard. So Assistant Manager Jang is having a hard time.”

“Why didn’t he tell me that?”

It seemed that there were still some obstacles in the way.

No wonder Jang Joon-sik had stayed at the Wonju factory for so long.

‘I need to check on that.’

As he was thinking, Jeong Da-hye spoke to him.

“Yoo-hyun, you’re lucky to have a fun and cute younger brother like Jae-hee.”

“Lucky? He’s so noisy.”

“Really? Do you want me to make some noise for you?”

“Look at him. He never backs down.”

“To me, you look like a very happy family.”

As Jeong Da-hye smiled, Han Jae-hee blurted out something outrageous.

“Sis, then why don’t you join our family? And while you’re at it, give us a pretty niece or nephew soon…”

Gulp.

Yoo-hyun bit down hard on Han Jae-hee’s shoulder.

“You’re drunk, Jae-hee. Let’s stop now, okay?”

“What are you talking about? I just said what you really wanted. You should thank me.”

Han Jae-hee didn’t back down and argued, while Jeong Da-hye barely suppressed her laughter.

“Pff!”

“Ugh. Do whatever you want, whatever you want.”

Yoo-hyun gave up completely.

Was it because she was drunk?

At some point, Jeong Da-hye started to laugh.

“Ha ha ha! Really? Thanks to you, Yoo-hyun, I skipped work for the first time…”

“Really? I skip work all the time.”

“Pu ha ha! Really? Jae-hee, you’re amazing.”

She shrugged her shoulders so hard at the trivial story.

It was the first time Yoo-hyun saw her drunk.

But her drunkenness wasn’t just about laughing.

After laughing for a while, her eyes suddenly turned red.

Her tongue was clearly twisted, but amazingly, she spoke clearly.

“Jae-hee, I wish I had known you from America… I was so lonely back then.”

“Sis, you’ve been through a lot. What did oppa do?”

The arrow that had been chasing Yoo-hyun suddenly turned to him.

“What could I do in Korea?”

“Oppa, that’s not it. You should have shown her a reliable side, even from afar.”

“No, Jae-hee. I was able to endure it thanks to Yoo-hyun. He was the only one on my side.”

“Sis, you’re too nice. Men should be treated like this… Huh? Sis, are you crying?”

Han Jae-hee was shocked by the sight of her crying.

Jeong Da-hye quickly waved her hand and tried to laugh it off.

“No. I’m not crying. I just got some dust in my eye. Ha ha.”

“…”

“Huh? That’s weird. Why am I like this?”

Before she knew it, tears were streaming down Jeong Da-hye’s face.

She covered her face with her hands, and Han Jae-hee whispered to Yoo-hyun.

“Oppa, comfort sis a little. I’ll go get some fresh air.”

“Where are you going?”

“The convenience store in front. I want some ice cream.”

Han Jae-hee winked and got up from his seat.

After Han Jae-hee left, Yoo-hyun asked Jeong Da-hye.

“Da-hye, are you okay?”

“I’m… better now.”

“Here. Use this.”

Yoo-hyun handed her a handkerchief, but she refused.

“No. I’m fine. I’m not crying anymore.”

“Take it anyway.”

“Thank you.”

She took the handkerchief and looked at Yoo-hyun.